As I scanned the morning headlines, it occurred to me that I’ve been as guilty as others, maybe moreso, of missing the forest while spotting diseased trees.

Gov. Mike Beebe yesterday signed a grocery tax cut and an expansion of health insurance for kids. Earlier, there was a monumental political victory in a sharp increase in the cigarette tax to leverage a big increase in money for a variety of health programs. A lottery is about to be created with unanimous legislative assent. More money will reach college students.

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Some particularly bad bills have been defeated or stymied. Some needless bills have been approved, but the damage is primarily in wasted energy, not actual harm.

There’s an adult in the governor’s office, clearly the best in my time here, maybe ever, for working with the legislature. The leadership of the House and the Senate are able politicians, too, with, like Beebe, a slight tilt toward the cautiously progressive. Robbie Wills’ consensus building in the House is particularly noteworthy, given its organically fractious nature. Bob Johnson’s checkered resume seems a thing of the past as he leads the Senate.

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Back to carping shortly. But for this one moment, a concession that the glass is not only not half-empty, it may be even a bit more than half full.

PS — Now if all would just line up behind the agenda Bill Kopsky outlines on the jump …

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